[kwlug-disc] Dump skype on Monday night

[Bob Jonkman]

Well, John Kerr and I tried to use SIP softphones, but it seems the 
LOL-security was just too strict.

I was using the Linphone client with my Ekiga account ( 
BobJonkman at ekiga.net ), and could make an out-bound call to the Ekiga 
callback test number ( sip:520 at ekiga.net ) but could not receive the 
callback.

John and I tried to make a peer-to-peer connection, but that was also 
unsuccessful.  Perhaps the softphones need to make contact with a server 
before handing off in a p2p session.

Joe Wennechuk pointed out that if I had set up a VPN to my home server I 
would have had the equivalent of a client outside the LOL-security zone, 
and John might have been able to connect to me.  Maybe next time...

--Bob.


On 2011-06-07 at 23:53:36  Jason Locklin wrote:
>> Steven Blatchford wrote, On 06/06/2011 3:02 PM:
>>>> Perhaps dumb questions, but:
>>>>
>>>> 1. There are Skype alternatives?
>>>> - for the moment, let's ignore the client and talk about the backbone.
>>>> - i.e. To Khalid's point, presumably the alternative has to have a
>>>> solid, wide-ranging presence - if we're to convince those we talk to
>>>> to consider trying the alternative. What might they be - google?
>>>> (Given Android?)
> Skype alternatives? Yes, of course. Skype is just VOIP combined with an
> instant-message type phone book. The two general types of competitors
> are SIP clients that combine with other IM networks to achieve the same
> effect, or XMPP/Jabber clients that use the Jingle protocol to create
> VOIP calls. Of course SIP clients can integrate well with PBX's and
> ATA's, while Jingle VOIP users can communicate with GTalk and even
> Googles Gmail-based VOIP chat.
>
> Of course, any client that is not as capable as Skype at recklessly
> punching holes through crappy, restricted NAT routers is a non-starter.
> Additionally, the ability to create peer-to-peer connections instead of
> always using a proxy for NAT (i.e., ICE), can drastically improve call
> quality. In effect, Skype seems to always work, even on the most
> restrictive of networks, and at the same time, manages to find a direct
> peer-to-peer connection if at all possible. An alternative needs to be
> able to do the same or better.
>
> Cross-platform examples I like:
> Blink. SIP with IM.  http://icanblink.com/
> Jitsi (sip-communicator). Multi protocol including SIP and XMPP
> http://www.jitsi.org/
> Empathy/Telepathy is convenient on Gnome, but lacks a lot of features
> and defaults to a low-quality audio codec.
>
>
>>>> 2. Why switch from Skype?
>>>> - I get that MS has purchased Skype - have there been any intimations
>>>> or news of 'nefariousness'?
> Proprietary and jealously closed network. Anyone interested in continued
> innovation in internet based voice communication should support any move
> away from such a network. There is a reason that despite Skype having
> 100's of times more users, there are many more companies developing
> products (hardware and software) for SIP based communication.
>
> I can never manage make it out to meetings (3 young children at home),
> but am happy to help experiment if anyone is trying to figure out what
> works best over a variety of network situations.
>
> _
> Jason
>
>
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